More news on this day
Follow us on Google
Royal Caribbean’s glitzy new Icon-class ships were already drawing attention for record-breaking size and headline-grabbing attractions, but one of their most talked-about features is far smaller: the Empire Supper Club, an intimate fine-dining venue that reimagines what a cruise-ship dinner can be.
Get the latest news straight to your inbox!
A Fine-Dining Ticket With a Sticker-Shock Price
Many cruisers expect specialty restaurants to carry a premium, but the cost of Empire Supper Club stands out even in that context. Recent menus and pricing information indicate the experience is currently positioned among Royal Caribbean’s most expensive dining options at sea, with a per-person charge that can exceed what many travelers would typically pay for an upscale night out on land. For some guests, that price point alone is the first surprise.
The fee is designed to cover an eight-course tasting menu paired with cocktails and sparkling wine, plus live entertainment. It also reflects the venue’s limited capacity, which keeps the room intimate but makes each seat more valuable. For travelers used to thinking of cruise dining as mostly “included,” the idea of reserving and paying separately for a long, choreographed meal can feel like an unexpected budget decision baked into the voyage.
Yet reports from early sailings suggest that many diners emerge feeling they received not just a meal, but an entire evening’s worth of programming. That blend of exclusivity, length and layered experiences helps explain both the elevated price and the strong reaction it tends to provoke.
A New York Supper Club Hidden Inside a Mega-Ship
Another surprise is how completely the restaurant’s design distances guests from the realities of being on a ship carrying thousands. Instead of bright pool-deck colors and ocean views, Empire Supper Club leans into a dark, moody palette, with plush seating, low lighting and art deco flourishes intended to evoke 1920s and 1930s New York.
The venue sits by the leafy Central Park neighborhood, itself an unusual feature, with real trees and open-air walkways that already blur the line between resort and cityscape. Stepping from that park-like area into a jazz-filled dining room that looks more like a Manhattan nightspot than a traditional cruise restaurant can be disorienting in a way many guests find delightful.
Design awards and trade coverage have pointed to meticulous detailing in the space, from lighting that spotlights each course to finishes that absorb sound and keep the jazz trio from overwhelming conversation. It is a reminder that Royal Caribbean is not only investing in headline attractions such as water parks and surf simulators, but also in small, theatrical venues aimed squarely at adults seeking a night that feels entirely off the ship.
Eight Courses, Cocktails and a Surprising Pace
Diners familiar with cruise-ship specialty restaurants often expect a three-course format built around steak, pasta or seafood. Empire Supper Club’s eight-course tasting structure comes as a surprise, particularly when guests realize that each plate is paired with a crafted cocktail or sparkling pour, not just wine.
Menus seen in circulation highlight dishes such as oysters Rockefeller, caviar-topped starters, and rich mains featuring Wagyu beef, all sequenced to escalate in flavor and heft. The drinks list is equally ambitious, calling on classic New York cocktails and champagne-forward creations tailored to each course. For travelers who chose a cruise for its simplicity, that level of culinary choreography can feel closer to a land-based tasting menu at a destination restaurant.
What also surprises many is the pacing. Reports indicate that the experience can stretch well beyond two hours, edging toward three as the band plays between courses and staff introduce each pairing. That extended timeline forces a different mindset: this is not a pre-show quick bite, but the evening’s main event. Guests who are used to fitting multiple activities into a single night on a large resort ship may find themselves unexpectedly surrendering to a slower, more deliberate rhythm.
Live Jazz Turns Dinner Into a Small-Stage Show
Cruise ships are not short on entertainment, from ice shows to outdoor aqua theaters. Yet the live jazz that anchors Empire Supper Club often catches diners off guard, precisely because it unfolds at such close range. A trio performing American standards sits just steps from the tables, creating an atmosphere more akin to a city jazz lounge than a mainstage production.
The music is integrated into the structure of the evening. Certain courses are timed to musical interludes, and the band acts as a constant presence rather than a separate show before or after dinner. Some guests arrive expecting ambient background music and instead find that the performance shapes the entire experience, influencing conversation volume, pacing and even how long they linger between plates.
This approach reflects a broader trend on newer Royal Caribbean ships, where dining venues double as entertainment spaces. From externally curated reviews to passenger accounts, many describe Empire Supper Club as one of the few places on board where food, drink and live performance are inseparable, making it an unexpected highlight for travelers who thought of cruise dining as secondary to the shows.
Intimate Scale and Divisive Reactions
One of the final surprises for many travelers is just how small and polarizing the restaurant can be. Compared with sprawling buffets and multi-level main dining rooms, Empire Supper Club seats a fraction of the passengers on any given sailing. That scarcity contributes to its reputation as a “hard ticket” to secure, and it fuels debate over whether the experience is worth locking in months in advance.
Publicly available reviews reveal a split between guests who call it the best meal they have ever had at sea and others who felt the food did not quite live up to the theatrical build-up. Some praise the precision of the pairings and the chance to dress up for a glamorous evening, while others focus on the cost, the long duration or specific dishes that did not meet expectations.
What most accounts agree on is that Empire Supper Club does not feel like a typical cruise-ship restaurant. From the hidden New York setting and ambitious menu to the jazz-forward staging and premium price, the venue represents a test of how far cruise dining can stretch toward land-based fine-dining culture. For travelers stepping on board expecting buffets and casual eateries, discovering such a focused, high-concept experience tucked away inside a record-breaking ship can be the most surprising moment of all.